Europe

Atlantica Yield, formerly the UK-based energy yieldco Abengoa Yield, has launched a debut US private placement, which is the first US PP offering in 2020 in Europe.

Leeds Building Society opened books on Monday for its second Sonia-linked covered bond. The trade benefited from an ‘unparallelled’ level of demand, reaching almost four times its £600m size.

Rabobank opened books on its first ever non-preferred senior deal in sterling on Monday, as it sought to take advantage of a general lack of a supply in the currency over the course of the last couple of months.

UK Finance has said that the array of different regulatory requirements for firms is increasing operational risks, with the approach to solvent wind-downs one example of regulators contradicting each other.

LBBW has picked banks to arrange the sale of a new euro covered bond as activity in the market gets off to a slower start than usual following the new year break.

Market participants are forecasting a strong year of growth for the green bond market in 2020, after it reached record issuance in 2019.

Global syndicated lending fell back in 2019 to a level similar to that in 2013-2016, in dollar terms, after two years of higher borrowing including a near-record total in 2018. The volume was the sixth highest ever, and higher than that in any year before 2006.

Nationwide Building Society issued the first sterling covered bond of the year on Friday, without needing to pay any premium over the tight trading levels of its existing bonds.

Equity capital markets bankers' bullish mood was dented on Friday by falling markets as investors reacted to escalating tension in the Middle East after the US assassination of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. Banks are hoping this change in sentiment does not damage deal making next week.

Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s have both placed Banca del Mezzogiorno-MedioCredito Centrale (MCC) on review for downgrade, after the Italian government confirmed it could use the state-owned bank to help recapitalise the struggling lender Banca Popolare di Bari.

Burak Kaya is joining MUFG Turkey to lead its corporate banking activity for non-Japanese firms.

The Federal State of Lower Saxony sold the first euro public sector benchmark of 2020 with a well received 10 year deal on Thursday. Meanwhile, the European Investment Bank is keeping to tradition of beginning its benchmark funding for the year in sterling.